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Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Saturday, August 13, 2016
Saturday, July 25, 2015
(The Big Disrupt) Why are Pearson selling the Financial Times when it makes money?
The decision to sell the
Financial Times seemed strange as it boggled the mind as to why Pearson would
want to sell a famous and respected British media institution it’s owned for 58
years that’s making money in an age where most media entities are bleeding
money. The only reasoning behind the FT sale that makes sense is that the
education and publishing giant is looking to focus more on its profitable
education business and slowly wind down its media publishing business which
might also explain why Pearson is also looking to let the publishers of The
Economist buy them out of their 50% stake in the magazine.
While it is jarring to see
Pearson effectively wash its hands off two famous and respected British economic
and financial magazines, Pearson have not been shy in stating its ambition to
transition from its roots as a publisher into, in its own words, a “learning
company”. In truth, the sale of FT was no surprise as the moment John Fallon
became CEO of Pearson, the company’s transition into a full fledged learning and
education company was a done deal. There was speculation even back in 2012
about who will buy the financial Times from Pearson with news media giants such
as Bloomberg, Thomas Reuters Group and Rupert Murdoch rumored to be frame of to
take the FT off Pearson’s hands.
The only real surprise is that
Nikkei ended up buying the FT. A suggestion mentioned by the guardian suggests
that the FT sale was based on the incredible circulation numbers in japan as “the
Nikkei newspaper, Japan’s equivalent of the Financial Times, sells 3m
broadsheet print copies a day – compared with 2m for the tabloid Daily Mail in
the UK and a mere 200,000 for the FT itself”[1].
While this represents a great opportunity for Financial Times, it only begs the
question why Pearson sold the Financial Times as it’s one of the few media
operations that makes money mostly from its content thanks to strong subscriber
base.
But looking at Pearson’s recent
financial performance, the real reason Pearson sold the Financial Times becomes
clear. Pearson suffers from growing net debt and a serious contraction in returns
as Pearson was making 10.3% on invested capital in 2010 but only saw a 5.6%
return in 2014. Pearson clearly didn’t see the Financial Times or the media
business in general as ripe for growth which is evident in Fallon’s blog post
as he noted:
“We are at an inflection point in global
media. The pace of disruptive change in new technology — in particular, the
explosive growth of mobile and social media — poses a direct challenge to how
the FT produces and sells its journalism. It presents the FT with a great
opportunity too — to reach more readers than ever before, in new and exciting ways”[2]
Fallon citing disruption on the
media industry as a rationale for selling the FT doesn’t make sense as the FT,
as mentioned earlier, are one of the few media companies that have weathered
the storm and even thrived in the winds of change that has changed the media landscape
over the last decade.
Nonetheless, expect Pearson to
focus on it growth markets for its education business in Brazil and China as
the North American market ( by far Pearson’s biggest) is showing signs that has
peaked and is set or either stagnation or even decline. In sum, Pearson is
looking become a learning company but flogging off the FT clearly was unnecessary
and is a sign that the company may be moving too fast.
[1][1]
The Guardian, 2015, The Guardian view on media globalization: good news for the
financial Times, http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jul/23/the-guardian-view-on-media-globalisation-good-news-for-the-financial-times
[2] L.
H. Owen, 2015, Citing “an inflection
point in global media,” Pearson sells the Financial Times to Nikkei”, http://www.niemanlab.org/2015/07/citing-an-inflection-point-in-global-media-pearson-sells-the-financial-times-to-nikkei/
Saturday, May 24, 2014
(What's Dope) Ta-Nehisa Coates: The Case for Reparations
 |
| Ta-Nehisi Coates |
“Two hundred fifty years of
slavery. Ninety years of Jim Crow. Sixty years of separate but equal.
Thirty-five years of racist housing policy. Until we reckon with our
compounding moral debts, America will never be whole”[1]
I’ve read my fair share of essays
from a great deal of writers from William George Orwell to Gore Vidal but Ta-Nehisi Coates
“The Case For Reparations” is easily one of the best I’ve read.
For good reason “The Case for
Reparations” has been lauded by his peers and beyond as it was powerfully
written and argued as it succeeded in portraying the horrors and injustice of
slavery and the shockingly racist and debilitating government policies
(including the much praised New Deal) that systemically thwarted the economic
and social progress of African-Americans for decades.
The power of the piece is
profound, thought provoking and, if you have morsel of affinity with human
race, horrifying as Coates unapologetically shines a light on a number of sins
that are well documented but notably not discussed in the public sphere or even
that much among black intellectuals.
While argument for reparations
are rarely heard or made in public sphere by black intellectuals, it’s even rarer
to read one of the fiercest and convincing cases for the measure yet penned by
someone who not too long ago was against it. In his piece “Inverse nationalism”,
Coates actually argued against reparations and had scathing but thought
provoking remarks regarding Henry Louis Gates, a prominent African American
scholar, who was ironically making and argument against reparations by citing
the role of Africans in the slave trade[2].
Coates, none too pleased with
Gates targeting the role of Africans in the slave trade and others who had “commit
the fallacy of judging the sins of the past via the racial tribalism of today”,
cited his distaste at Gates’ argument against Africans as he, like others, are guilty
of apportioning blame as he wrote:
“Gates is not interested in
ending "the blame-game," as much he's interested in fiddling with the
foul-count. The vocabulary of blame is key--instead of speciously blaming
white Americans for the crimes of their presumed ancestors, Gates
speciously blames Africans. The vocabulary of blame proceeds from a simplistic
morality play in which someone, by virtue of simple biology, must play the
villain and someone else must play the victim. Gates has no problem with the
play, he just wants new actors for the roles”[3]
Coates went on to address directly
the roots of his opposition against reparations by pointing at the element blame
attached to the measure that seems almost unavoidable but as we see in “The
Case for Reparations”, Coates makes it a point not to point the finger but
detail a number of actors, institutions and policies that cumulatively engaged in
the systematic degradation of African American promise, clearly a decision he
made when writing this piece and stands as one of the many strengths.
Even in “Inverse Nationalism”
where he stated his opposition to reparation, the roots to his change of heart
is present as he saw the element of blame he stated that the issue of blame
forces us to look backwards at past sins rather than address their consequences
when he wrote:
“From my perspective, the most interesting and
provocative modern questions around America's racial dilemma, like any societal
dilemma, do not necessitate blame. To put it differently, I am
not concerned about gender equality because I think I'm to blame thousands of
years of sexism, I'm concerned about gender equality because it matches
my moral center. Blame is irrelevant. In the context of race, the question
isn't "Who is to blame for the Middle Passage, slavery, and Jim
Crow?" it's "What, tangibly, can we do to counter its
generational effects?"“[4]
In sum, “The Case for
Reparations” is a brilliant piece of journalism and confirms Ta-Nehisi Coates as one of the better writers on the black and indeed the American experience.
Read the brilliant "The Case for Reparations" here.
connect with The Carnage Report on Twitter @TCRblogspot.
[1]
T.Coates, 2014, The Case For Reparations, http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2014/05/the-case-for-reparations
[2] T.
Coates, 2010, Inverse Nationalism, http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2010/04/inverse-nationalism/39463/
[3]
Ibid
[4]
Ibid
Monday, December 16, 2013
Friday, August 30, 2013
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
(Celebs) Brooks Ayers Clearly Insults His Ex, Vicki Gunvalson in Recorded Audio Tape
The well known star, Vicki Gunvalson
of “Real Housewives of Orange County” was insulted by her ex boyfriend, Brook
Ayers. In a secret tape, he calls her a whore and even threatens to hit her
ass. He sounds drunk and serious about kicking her ass; the worst part is that
he goes on to brag that they beat up women in the South.
Brooks Ayers is heard clearly using wicked
insults to describe a woman he has dated for around two years. This is during a
fiery exchange between him and Ryan Culberson, Vicki’s son-in-law. He seems to
be proud of assaulting women and even encourages Culberson to do it. Culberson
rebuffs him and does find anything amusing about the 46 year old is talking about.
It is not clear why he calls a
fucking bitch and a whore. But, Culberson is heard telling that he will be
alright. He is the husband of Briana, Gunvalson’s daughter.
Ayer’s is set to appear in a reunion
of OC Housewives which is set to take place next week. In the last part of
their conversation, he is reading a text Vicki had sent him. She tells him that
he's drunk and she does not want to fight. The audio tape recorded last year, 2012
and will be discussed during the reunion of their show next week. Ayer can not
comment it because it is a segment waiting to be aired.
The couple has had problems since
early this year and they are in court fighting over a product they had planned
to launch. The break up is just nasty; Ayer seems to be very bitter sounds like
he can hurt Vicki
Friday, July 26, 2013
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Thursday, May 23, 2013
(News) Woolwich Attack: Killer Explains and Justifies Murder In Broad Daylight
Warning:
The images in this video are graphic.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Monday, May 13, 2013
(Business) BT: A Real Challenge to Sky’s Dominance of the Pay-TV Market ?
For two decades, Sky have dominated
the pay TV industry in the UK from its inception owing mostly to its vice grip
over rights to broadcast matches of the premier league, the world’s most
watched league, a feat in which Sky have played a large part in making a
reality. Football fans for two decades have had to purchase Sky’s sky sports
package to watch the fortunes of their favourite team unfurl before their eyes
but with the challenge being posed by telecoms giant BT, Sky’s death grip over
the UK Pay-Tv market may see a loosening of its grip.
BT’s challenge to sky’s
dominance of the Pay-tv market has been a long time coming which has required a
lot of work outside the market as well as in it. BT has profited of the
regulatory climate favouring the need of competition in the Pay-TV market,
which Sky have basically cornered, warding off new competitors with ruthless efficiency.
However for all BT’s
encouraging challenge to the dominance of Sky regarding the Pay TV market, it still
faces a very powerful foe as Sky have 67% of the market share while BT only
have 4%[1].This
dominance is largely down to the fact that Sky dominate subscriptions via cable and satellite which
represent much of the subscription market altogether thanks to laying much
of the ground in the UK pay tv market in
the first place and BT’s rather late entrance into the market[2]
.
This is why BT is avoiding the
fatal mistake of past challengers to sky’s pay tv dominance as others had tried
and failed miserably to loosen Sky grip over cable and satellite subscriptions,
the most notable and infamous example of this failure was ITV digital’s remarkable collapse which had
left a mark on ITV that only now is truly recovering from[3].
BT are clearly playing to their strengths
by offering its “ new sport channels and ESPN free for the first year to
customers who take its broadband products, marking the first serious attempt to
combine exclusive TV services and the internet” [4],
effectively leveraging its dominance in the broadband market as BT have a “37%
retail share of DSL, LLU and fibre broadband market [5].
In addition to expanding its
broadband customer base through its foray into Pay TV sports broadcasting, BT also look to leverage Sky’s cable and satellite
subscription dominance by offering its new sports channels, BT Sport 1 and 2, in an attempt to reach those “who do not have BT’s broadband” and
compensate for it weakness regarding cable satellite subscriptions[6].
However, as The Mirror’s Graham
Hiscott had pointed out, BT’’s foray into the pay Tv market has very little to
do with the Pay TV market, While BT would like to make some gains from its
investment into Pay TV and take some customers off sky in the process, the move
is clearly motivated by its attempt to secure its ebbing long term dominance over the
broadband market with Sky’s Broadband business growing at a rapid rate [7]. BT even said as much in the ‘our
aim and strategy’ section of their 2012
annual report as the company sought to exploit the UK ‘s large “broadband connectivity”
by increasing broadband speed and “grow and enhance our(BT’s )TV services” [8].
In sum, BT are sure to make
some waves and fare better than past challengers simply by following the time
tested wisdom of playing to your strengths, However, in BT’s case, its foray
into the Pay TV market is clearly an
effort to maintain their strength and stifle Sky’s.
[1]
BT, 2012, BT Group plc Annual report & form 20-F 2012, http://www.btplc.com/Sharesandperformance/Annualreportandreview/pdf/BTAnnualReport2012_smart.pdf
[2]
Ibid
[3]
BBC, 2002, ITV Digital goes broke,
[4] M.
Warman, 2013, BT Sport Channel:broadband takes on TV, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/broadband/10046320/BT-Sport-channel-broadband-takes-on-TV.html
[5]
Ibid
[7] G.
Hiscott, 2013, BT battle with Sky is all about broadband not sports,
[8]
BT, 2012, BT Group plc Annual report & form 20-F 2012, http://www.btplc.com/Sharesandperformance/Annualreportandreview/pdf/BTAnnualReport2012_smart.pdf
Friday, May 3, 2013
UKIP: The Rise of UKIP Continues After Election
If the conservatives weren't afraid of the rise of UKIP, they are now.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
(News) US Navy Women: The Type You Cross At The Your Peril
There are a lot of stupid things you can and will do in your life but attacking a female off-duty US Navy officer is a very stupid and painful mistake. If you are going to be a violent asshole rapist, one of the most crucial skills pick up is knowing who to target but unfortunately for a unnamed Pakistani bus driver in Dubai, he learned this lesson the hard way indeed.
On her way back from back from
the city to her ship, the unnamed Naval officer got on a bus hoping for a
routine trip but that was out of the question once the bus driver veered off the regular bus route into an area
that was “dark and quiet”, a perfect type of setting for the worst to happen[1].
The bus driver then proceeded to where she was seated to make a sexual advance
and threatened to end her life when rebuffed with a knife[2].
Not long after, the officer and
the bus driver got into a scrap which needless to say, the bus driver came off worse
as the officer “wrestled the weapon from the attacker even as he was biting her
hand, and broke the knife in two, the...She got a stranglehold on the man’s
neck with her legs, forcing him into submission, and fled shortly after”[3].
While this is a great story
because of its very bad ass UFC ending, this story could have easily gone the
other way and ended with the officer losing her life and bus driver having to
go on the run causing a real diplomatic pickle for the Pakistani government
when he got caught Because let’s face it, if you going to break the second
golden rule of crime of picking your target carefully, you are definitely going
to break it’s first, don’t get caught.
The bus driver did get caught
after the officer had told her ranking officers who informed the Dubai police
and looks set to be charged however, it’s not exactly clear for what.
In sum this could have been a
tragedy but not all asshole rapists pick their victims as badly as this bus driver
did and paid as much in pain and embarrassment.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
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